True Wolf
by Stolen Cookie the Phone Writer
Summary: Chapter 7 now up!Epilouge! find out what happens. Cloti, after DoC Fanart would be loved. Part 1 of White Wolf Chronicles. Sequel, Wolf Blood, is up!
1. Phone calls and surprises

-1Disclaimer….I don't own anything

Summary: Cloud is out on a delivery and comes across something that will change life at home. Takes place a year after DoC.

True Wolf

The rain was coming down in sheets and the wind wasn't helping him either. Fenrir was almost out of gas and would need an oil change sooner or later. This was not a good trip. He was a good four hours away from home and the weather was bad, which only slowed him down.

Cloud was soaked to the bone and wasn't to happy about it either, but at least he wasn't to far away from home. Only a few miles left. He would be dry and have a nice bed to sleep in when he got home, maybe Tifa had some food for him too. He would have to call Tifa, just to let her know he was okay and that he was going to be late. This wasn't the first time that he got caught in the rain like this, Tifa would understand. So, he kept going till he could find a suitable place to stay until the storm let up, which happened to be an old barn out in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't the best of places, but it would do to keep him dry for the moment. Inside the barn it was warm and dry, a couple of leaks in the roof. Other than that, it was perfect. Fenrir was dry, but that didn't mean anything, as long as Cloud could get himself dry, he was fine.

Cloud pulled out his phone and proceeded to dial the number of Seventh Heaven. A couple of rings later Denzel answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Denzel, it's Cloud." There was a voice in the background, it was Tifa.

"I know. We were waiting for you to call, Tifa was getting worried." Denzel said with worry. "Ritte was crying all night long, she had a fever." At this Cloud gave a small grunt of concern.

"I tried to call earlier, no body answered. Where were ya'll?" Cloud was irritated now. It was like nobody told him anything anymore. Then again, he was gone five days out of the week. It was a wonder Ritte even knew who he was.

"We had to take Ritte to the hospital. She's alright now. The doctor gave her some antibiotics for the ear infection." Cloud gave a sigh of relief.

"That's good. Now let me talk to Tifa." Cloud didn't realize that he was pacing around the old barn till he stopped pacing. It was never like him to pace like that when he was worried, but ever since parenthood had set in with the kids and all, he just couldn't help it anymore.

"Okay!" There was a sound of movement, then footsteps, then Tifa's voice was heard.

"Hey. I'm sorry I didn't call you about Ritte." Tifa sounded tired, probably from Ritte keeping her up all night. Cloud sighed again.

"I'm worried now." He continued pacing. This time he knew he was. "Will she be alright?"

"Yeah, I think so." He heard her sigh and move around. " This one wasn't as bad as the last one, but still, it was bad enough for me to bring her to the doctor." She moved around again. "I just got her to sleep a little while ago. I haven't heard a peep out of her since." He was still pacing.

"At least she is sleeping in a nice warm bed, while I'm stuck in an old barn." He heard Tifa giggle on the other end of the phone. He smiled a little. "Well, I guess I deserve it, for not being home much." She laughed again.

"Your pacing again aren't you?" He stopped and looked down at his feet. She was right, again.

"It's not my fault." He said with a laugh. She sighed.

"You are so hopeless." She said tiredly.

"I know." He sat down on a bale of hay and leaned against the post that it was next to. "But would I be who I am if I wasn't?" He ran a hand through his hair.

"You have a point." He smiled.

" What are the other two doing?" He heard her yawn.

"Marlene is packing for her trip and Denzel is taking a shower. He just got in after he handed me the phone." Cloud would kill to have a shower.

"I'll try to be home before twelve. It looks like the rain is letting up, so I'll be able to leave in a bit." He stood up. "I hope you have a bowl of soup waiting for me." He noticed his nose was running. He was getting sick.

"I always do. Just for you." He smiled yet again. "Be careful on the way home."

"I will. Don't worry." He walked over to Fenrir.

"I love you." She said.

" I love you too. I'll be home in a little while." He hung up and put his phone back in his pocket.

He was getting ready to leave when he noticed something he didn't even see before. In the corner of the barn was a small white lump. He moved away from his bike and towards the lump in the hay. It was small, about the size of a rat, only it wasn't a rat.

When he got closer to the lump, Cloud noticed that it was moving, and making a noise that he couldn't here from where he was before. It sounded like a puppy. It was a puppy. A newborn. Not even a day old.

"Where did you come from?" He knelt down beside it and upon hearing Cloud's voice it yelped rather loudly. So, Cloud picked up the small white puppy and looked to see if there was anything wrong with it.

"Your not hurt. Just abandoned." He looked to see if it was a girl or a boy. "A little girl huh? That's fine. I'll take you home." He held the puppy to his chest where it cuddled up for warmth, even though Cloud was still soaking wet. Only thing was, how was he supposed to get the poor thing home when he had to drive.

He quickly walked over to his bike and opened a small compartment, only big enough to fit a house cat. It would work. So he set the little puppy in the compartment and proceeded to get on Fenrir. He started the engine and headed home to his family.

It was 11:48 when Cloud walked in the door to Seventh Heaven with the newborn puppy curled up to his chest. Tifa and the kids were already asleep. It wouldn't be long before Ritte would wake up for her midnight feeding. Tifa would get up and get her. Until then, Cloud had to find something for the puppy to sleep in and find that little bottle they had used for when Marlene bought home Nikki.

Nikki was the family cat. Marlene found her as a kitten and decided to bring her home. Much to Cloud's dismay, he agreed to help Marlene care for the little kitten, who was now a ball of fur and fat. He wasn't a cat person, but he had to deal with it.

Cloud looked in the closet in the hallway and found a basket big enough for the puppy to sleep in. He also found a small heating pad and a pillow. He even found that little bottle, which was great cause all he needed now was the milk. So, he set the puppy in the basket and then to his and Tifa's room to change his clothes.

When he was walking up the stairs, he decided to stop and check up on Ritte, just like he did every night he was home. He opened the door to her room and walked over to the crib, quietly doing so. He peered in and saw the six month old baby sleeping on her back. He smiled, taking a moment to himself to get over the fact that his life changed the day she was born. He was in love with this little being and would always be. If anything happened to her, he didn't know what he would do. She was his daughter, she would always be. He gently ran his hand over her brown haired head and leaned in to kiss her on the forehead.

"Goodnight, Love." He quietly left the baby's room and shut the door behind him. He walked to his room and changed clothes. After changing into pajama pants, he walked over to the bed and kissed Tifa on the lips. In doing so, he woke her up.

"Your home." She looked at him and sat up.

"Yeah, I'm home." He kissed her again and she wrapped her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened. He stopped and just sat there with her, holding her. "I'm never going on a two week long delivery ever again." She smiled into his bare chest.

"Did you check on the baby?" She asked him.

"Yeah." He said. "I have a problem though."

"What is it?" She asked. He stood and held his hand out to her. She grabbed it and he took her downstairs to the kitchen. She saw the basket on the counter. "Oh boy." She looked inside and saw the little white puppy.

"It's a girl, I found her in the barn right after I hung up with you." Tifa picked up the puppy. "She's not but a day old by my guess." He looked at her while she inspected the puppy.

"Heat up some milk, but not to hot and put it in the bottle." She said and he did just that.

"Here." He handed her the bottle of warm milk.

Tifa took it and put it near the puppy's tiny mouth. The puppy took the bottle, drinking all of the milk and then fell asleep in Tifa's arms. She then placed the puppy in the basket and bought it up to their room. When Tifa came back, Cloud was eating the bowl of chicken noodle soup she made for him earlier.

"Is it good?" She sat across from him.

"The best." He said in between bites. He glanced up at the wall clock and noticed it was 12:34. "Ritte should be waking up pretty soon." Tifa put her elbows on the table, putting her chin on her hands. She was content with her family. Even if it meant having to get up every night at 1:00 in the morning to feed Ritte. Cloud even got up to feed her just so Tifa could sleep. "I'll take care of her tonight. You get some sleep, okay." He got up after finishing the soup and put it in the sink, knowing that Denzel would do the dishes tomorrow.

"Alright, thank you." She got up from the table and kissed him on the lips before heading up the stairs.

At around 12:45, a baby's cry was heard. So, Cloud walked up the stairs, baby bottle in hand, to Ritte's room. He opened the door and walked over to the crying baby, picking her up and sitting down in the rocking chair next to her crib.

"Hungry?" She answered the question by happily taking the bottle into her mouth. "I thought so." He smiled and looked into her blue eyes that were the same as his. He rocked back and forth humming a tune his mother used to sing to him. Soon, Ritte was asleep again, still sucking on her bottle. He took the bottle out of her mouth and set it down on the table next to him.

"Goodnight Love." He set her down in her crib and covered her up with her pink blanket. Next to her there was the little stuffed gold chocobo Denzel had bought her on the day she was born. He was a good big brother, doing everything he could to keep a smile on Ritte's little face. Cloud was proud of him.

After kissing his daughter on the forehead, he once again headed to his room. He opened the door and walked in closing it behind him. The baby monitor on Tifa's night stand letting him know what was going on. He carefully got in bed and wrapped his arms around Tifa.

"How do you get her to calm down? She wouldn't stop crying when she had that earache yesterday." She said sleepily.

"I don't know. Goodnight." He kissed her again and fell asleep.

Denzel was in for a surprise tomorrow.

Well, I wanted to have a family feel to this story. Also, I wanted to show Cloud's softer side as well. Btw Ritte is pronounced re-tae.

Tell me what you think! I'm always open for suggestions.


	2. Earaches and First steps

-1True Wolf

There was whimpering coming from the corner of the room. It was making Cloud toss and turn, he was annoyed by it. He opened his eyes and looked at the digital clock on the nightstand next to him. 5:00 am was in red. He groaned when he remembered the puppy. Sighing he got up and walked over to where the puppy was. He picked up the basket and walked down stairs to the kitchen.

"You have to sleep till at least seven. I can't handle getting up a five every morning." He picked up the puppy and held her to his chest while he warmed some milk for her. He knew he was already attached. "We have to find you a name."

He was about to sit down at the table, when he noticed Nikki come in through the closet door. She walked over to Cloud and began to rub up against him. The very furry tabby cat meowed at him, she wanted some milk too. Nikki was getting impatient and hopped up on the counter, meowing at Cloud for attention. He had to finish up with the puppy before he could take care of Nikki, who was at the moment smelling the basket.

"Hold on Nikki, I'll get to you in a moment." The puppy was finished with the bottle and Cloud placed her back in the basket. He then went over to the cabinet that had all the bowls in it and took one out. He set it on the counter, then went to the fridge to get some milk for Nikki and poured it in the bowl. Nikki happily lapped up the milk and hopped off the counter when she was done.

Cloud was sleepy, not getting enough sleep was making him angry, but he didn't blame the puppy. She needed care just like Ritte, who was helpless herself. He knew that Ritte would wake up again soon, she could never sleep through the night, because of earaches and infections. She would constantly get earaches at night ever since she was two months old, they were painful and would keep both of her parents up all night. The doctors said that she would grow out of it around two years of age, but that didn't mean that Cloud and Tifa didn't worry.

Cloud heard Ritte start to cry, it was a little too early for her. Normally she would wake up around seven, but this meant that she had another earache. So, he walked up the stairs to the baby's room and opened the door. He walked over to her crib where she was crying he eyes out and picked her up.

"It's okay, I'm here." He held her close, she put her head on his shoulder and stopped crying, but no completely. She whimpered in pain.

"Is she okay?" Cloud turned around to see Denzel standing in the doorway, looking worried.

"She's going to be fine. It's just a minor earache." Denzel sighed in relief, he loved his little sister and didn't want anything to happen to her. "Denzel where are her eardrops?" Cloud asked him.

"They should be in the first drawer in her dresser. I'll get them for you." Cloud nodded and watched as Denzel went to get the eardrops out of Ritte's dresser. Denzel went and handed the drops to Cloud, who took them with his free hand.

"Denzel, can you do me a favor?" Denzel nodded. " Go into the kitchen and on the counter is a basket. Can you bring it here for me?" Denzel nodded once more before leaving the room and going into the kitchen.

Cloud sat down in the rocking chair and set Ritte in his lap. He wiped her little tears away with his thumb and she whimpered again. He turned her head gently to the right and put the drops in that ear, then doing the same to the other. He then put her on his shoulder again and she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. He looked up when Denzel came in with the basket.

"I didn't know we had a new dog." Cloud smiled at this. "She's so tiny."

"I found her in a barn and I didn't want to leave her there to die, so I just bought her home." He said and Denzel picked up the little puppy and held her closely. "We have to find a name for her."

"I don't know what name, but it will have to be something, that fits." Cloud nodded.

"I think that she is lonely, so I was thinking that we should put her with Ritte." Denzel smiled at that.

"That's a good idea. That way neither Ritte or the puppy will be lonely." Cloud and Denzel turned around to see Tifa in the doorway. She looked tired and worried. "They pretty much have the same sleeping schedule and I don't think they would hurt each other." Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"Whatever you say, Tifa. Just as long as I can get some sleep." Cloud said with a yawn. He then looked at Ritte, who was fast asleep on his shoulder. "As long as she sleeps without pain too."

"Yeah." Said Denzel.

Tifa went over to Cloud, taking the sleeping baby off of his shoulder and putting her in her crib. She then tucked her in and kissed her on the forehead. She went over to Denzel and took the puppy from him and put her next to Ritte in the crib and kissed the puppy as well.

Cloud walked over to the crib, looking at the baby and puppy sleeping next to each other. He was glad that he bought the puppy home.

"True. I think we'll call her True." Tifa and Denzel looked at Cloud.

"I like it. It's perfect." Tifa said and Denzel nodded.

Over the next few months, after waking up in the middle of the night for Ritte and True, things were starting to settle down. Ritte was going to be a year old in two months and wouldn't go anywhere without True. They were best friends, always sleeping together and playing with each other. True may have been four months old, but she was bigger than Nikki, who was pretty big for a house cat.

One day Nikki was sleeping on the counter and True started barking at her. Nikki was getting fed up with the barking and decided to jump on top of the blue eyed puppy. Nikki scratched True and True bit Nikki. They were best friends ever since.

"Cloud! Let True out please." Tifa was cooking dinner and True wanted to go outside.

"Okay." Cloud walked over to the back door where True was waiting for him. "Come on True." He opened the door and Nikki came flying in scaring True, who took off running into the backyard knocking Cloud down in the process. "Ouch!" Marlene who was sitting at the table with Denzel laughed when Cloud fell.

"Marlene that wasn't funny." Tifa said. "It was hilarious." Tifa then busted into laughter and Cloud glared at her.

"Thanks Dear, you really know how to joke around." Cloud got up and went to get Ritte out of her play pin.

"Oh Cloud, I was only messing with you." Tifa smiled at him as he put Ritte in her high chair. Any of her smiles could make him melt into a pile of mush. "Denzel I think True wants to come in and eat. Can you let her in?" Denzel nodded and let True in from outside. She happily went to her food bowl and ate everything in it, lapping up her water afterwards.

"Twue. Twue." Ritte giggled when she saw True, putting the biggest smile she could fit on her tiny face. "Dada! Twue!" Cloud smiled at Ritte when she got excited about True.

True trotted up to Ritte's highchair and licked her feet, letting Ritte know she was there. Ritte giggled and laughed cause it tickled her when True did that. True just wagged her white tail back and forth. It was what people would call a 'beautiful friendship' because it was beautiful. Cloud knew he did the right thing when he came home with True, cause not to long afterwards, Ritte's earaches had stopped and she started to sleep through the night.

Later on, after dinner it was bath time for Ritte, where Ritte went, True followed. Sometimes it was the other way around. True and Ritte, they were inseparable, nothing could make them part. Ritte splashed in the water while True sat beside the tub next to Tifa as she soaped up little Ritte.

"Twue! Ducky!" Ritte held out her favorite rubber duck to True, who sniffed it and took it from Ritte. The white dog jumped into the water with the duck in her mouth and dropped it in the water, watching it float over to a laughing Ritte.

"True. You got me wet." Tifa said, but smiled. "It's okay though. You wanted to have some fun too. I guess you could use a bath as well." True barked in response as Tifa grabbed some shampoo and poured it on true. Tifa rubbed the shampoo all over True's white fur until it lathered enough to rinse. "Okay you two. Time to get out."

"Awww. Mama." Ritte put a frown on her face and True gave a look of sadness. It was like she was pouting cause she didn't want to get out.

"Sorry Ritte, but it's time for bed." Tifa said as she grabbed a towel to dry off Ritte and True. She grabbed Ritte and dried her off, then grabbed the now clean True, drying her off as well.

"Twue." Ritte yelled as Tifa carried her to her room. True followed behind them into the room and waited for Tifa to pick her up to put her in the crib with Ritte.

"Come on True." True felt someone pick her up, she knew it was Cloud. She licked his face and wagged her tail. "Okay True that's enough." He smiled and laughed, putting True in the crib with Ritte who was giggling at her daddy. "Goodnight you two." He said then kissed Ritte on the forehead and pet True on her head.

Once Ritte's parents left her room she snuggled up to True and hugged her. True licked Ritte and curled up next to her.

"Nighni Twue!"

The next morning was a busy morning, as it was Monday. This meant Cloud had to bring the kids to school then head out on deliveries, something he wasn't looking forward to, but had no choice. He was getting ready to bring the kids to school when saw Ritte standing up and holding onto True as she took small steps toward him.

"TIFA! COME QUICK!" In a mad dash Tifa was downstairs in a panic.

"What is it? What happened? Is anything broken?" Cloud put a finger over his lips and pointed to Ritte and True.

"Oh my. Cloud she's walking!" Tifa gasped and put her arms around Cloud's waist. He smiled. His little girl was walking. Not all by herself, but it was a start. He looked down at Tifa and she looked up at him.

"Thank you for giving me this family." And he kissed her.

"Cloud! Lets go! We're going to be late!" Denzel said and Tifa broke the kiss. Cloud pouted. Denzel always knew how to ruin a moment.

"I'll be back as soon as I drop them off. Until then, keep an eye on Ritte and True." With that Cloud went out the door.

Tifa went up to Ritte with a smile on her face and knelt down next to her. Ritte giggled and tried to walk over to Tifa by herself but when she started to fall, True stuck by her, letting the little girl grab on to her fur. Nikki, who was sitting on the window seal watching all this happening meowed. She was just as happy it seemed.

"Oh Ritte." Tifa picked up her laughing daughter and walked into the kitchen with True and Nikki following her. "It's time for your breakfast."

The rest of the morning until Cloud got home persisted with flying fruit loops and a bored cat trying to catch them from the air. When Cloud walked in he raised an eyebrow, not saying anything, just walking up the stairs to his office. He was getting ready to go on the first delivery of the week when Tifa walked in with Ritte and True.

"How long will you be gone?" Tifa asked with concern, her daughter reaching out to her daddy.

"Not long, I'll be home before dinner tonight." He said taking Ritte from Tifa. The little girl laughed when Cloud tickled her.

"Dada! Stowp!" She said in between fits of giggles. Cloud laughed. Ritte was pretty smart and picked up words like you wouldn't believe.

"Not until you give me a kiss." He pointed to his cheek and she kissed him on it. "There we go. I'll stop now." Ritte hugged her daddy around the neck. "I'll be home tonight okay Ritte?"

"Otey Dada!" He handed her back to her mother and headed out the door. Tifa, Ritte and True, stood outside and watched Cloud mount Fenrir.

"Say bye to daddy!" Tifa said and the little girl waved.

"Bye Dada! Wuv You!" She yelled, blowing him a kiss which he caught and did the same.

Cloud started Fenrir's engine and took off at breakneck speed out of Edge. He would be back. They all knew he would.

So, let me know what you think.


	3. Fathers and Daughters

-1True Wolf

"Daddy!" Something was poking Cloud's face. "Daddy!" He turned over and curled up against Tifa.

"DADDY!" He sat up in a blur of motion.

"What?" He looked at the person who woke him up from his lovely dream. There was a four year old standing next to his bed, with a stuffed chocobo and a white dog standing next to her. "Ritte! What's wrong?"

"I had a bad dream. Can I sleep with you and mommy?" He looked at his daughter then sighed.

"Come on." He lifted up the covers for Ritte to get in and she climbed in next to Cloud. True was going to jump in with her. "True! On the floor girl." True gave a little whine, but did as she was told. "Good girl." Cloud rubbed her ears and she licked his hand.

"Daddy, what is True?" He knew that True was a wolf. She was to big to be a dog, which meant that they would have to keep an eye on her. Cloud wasn't worried about True hurting anyone unless they threatened Ritte.

"True is a wolf." He said as he stroked Ritte's light brown hair.

"But aren't wolves bad?" He kissed her hair as he turned on his side. "Danny says that all wolves are bad and that they eat people." Cloud closed his eyes and sighed.

"Not all wolves are bad Ritte, just look at True. She has never even hurt a fly, except for Nikki." Ritte giggled a little bit. "True would never hurt you or anyone unless they try to hurt you." Cloud hugged her.

"So Danny lied to me?" She started to tear up. "Why did he lie about True like that? He's so mean." Cloud kissed her on the cheek and whipped her tears away with his thumb.

"Sweetheart, sometimes people get jealous and say mean stuff or lie about someone because they want what you have." He held her to his chest. "It doesn't mean that they don't like you it's just that they want what you've got."

"Oh. Okay." She yawned.

"Well, go to sleep. I've got work in the morning." He kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight Daddy." Ritte snuggled up to Cloud, who held her close.

"Goodnight Love."

It was six o' clock when the alarm went off in Cloud's ear. He reached over Ritte, who was curled up against him, to press the snooze button before she woke up. He looked out the window and saw that the sun was just about to show it's face on the horizon. He gently moved Ritte over a bit so he could get out of the bed to get ready for the day's deliveries. He quietly got out of the bed and moved Ritte next to Tifa, who was semi awake.

"What time is it?" She asked sleepily.

"Time for me to go to work." He kissed her and she pulled Ritte's sleeping form over to her. "I'll be back in a couple of days." He turned to leave the room. "Come on True." True did as she was told , waking up and following Cloud out the room.

"I love you." Tifa said as he left hearing a faint reply of 'I love you too' as he went down the stairs. She smiled as Ritte cuddled up next to her looking for warmth. Tifa covered her daughter up then she went back to sleep.

Cloud was in the kitchen, still in his pajamas and sipping on a cup of hot chocolate. It was cold outside, which meant that he would have to bring an extra blanket with him this time. He was standing next to the counter looking at the map before him when Nikki decided to jump up and sit right on the map.

"Nikki! Down!" The cat refused to move, so Cloud picked her up and set her down on the floor where True chased her away. The wolf then came back and sat down next to Cloud, who scratched her ears. "Well, True, it looks like I'll be gone fro three days if I take this route." True jumped up so that her front legs were on the counter. She looked at the map and sighed. "I guess that means don't go that way." True looked at him. "So, which way should I go?" He pointed to one area of the map, True shook her head at it. "Okay so that's out of the question too huh?" He then pointed to a shorter way but more dangerous route. "What about this one?" True looked at it, then shook her head. "Another one bites the dust." True sighed and licked Cloud's hand. "Okay, I guess I could always call Cid." True gave a small 'woof' as a yes.

"I don't know what we'd do without you girl." Cloud knelt down and pet True on the head.

An hour later the sound of Fenrir's engine was fading away. Tifa was getting up when True walked in the room. She went over to Tifa and sat down next to the bed. Tifa who was sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbed on True's right ear before covering up Ritte.

"Come on True, lets go make breakfast before the teenagers wake up." Tifa of course meant Marlene and Denzel who had to go to school in the cold this morning. She walked out of the room and down the stairs to the kitchen with True following her. "Okay True, eggs, bacon, or ham this morning?" True gave four small barks. "All three it is."

Pretty soon the smell of food had woken two teenagers and a four year old. All three of them walked into the kitchen looking like zombies. Marlene looked like Medusa, Denzel looked like he could fall on the floor at any moment, and Ritte was just standing there holding her stuffed chocobo. True walked up to her and Ritte grabbed onto her, letting her lead the little girl to the table where she climbed up into the booster seat in the chair.

"Thank you True." Ritte hugged True.

Tifa served breakfast to everyone then sat down to eat herself. Halfway through breakfast the front door opened to revel a very sick Cloud. Tifa immediately got up and went over to him, putting her hand on his pale forehead. He had a fever.

"Denzel, stay down here with Ritte and make sure she finishes her breakfast." Tifa helped Cloud upstairs to their room.

"I was almost out of here when I started feeling bad. Then I thought I should go home." Cloud moaned. Tifa removed his boots, armor, and various other things while he laid on the bed. "I feel really bad." He got up to put on his pajamas real quick. Then got back into bed.

"DADDY!" Ritte busted into the room with tears in her eyes, True coming in right behind her. Ritte jumped on Cloud and wrapped her little arms around his neck. "Daddy don't die! Please! I love you so much!" She cried into his neck. Cloud wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm not going anywhere." She looked up at him, her blue eyes meeting his as he smiled. "I'm just sick. That's all." He whipped her tears away. She put her head on his chest and sniffled as he held her. Tifa watched as this all took place with a smile on her face she left the room to fix some soup for Cloud.

"I'm scared that I might lose you." Ritte said as more tears came. True whined and put her paw on the bed. "True is scared too." Cloud put a hand on True's head and rubbed it.

"I know your scared, but I don't plan on leaving you for good anytime soon." Ritte sniffled once more then looked up at Cloud.

"I'm sorry Daddy. I'm sorry for being afraid." He held her tighter against his chest.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, it's only natural for you to be afraid." He stroked her hair. "It's part of who we are as humans."

"Daddy, do you ever get scared?" She asked innocently. He looked at her and sighed. This was going to be hard for him to answer.

"Yes I do." She looked up at him in shock. "When you were a baby, you always use to get these really bad earaches. It used to scare me to death when you would cry all night long. I always thought that if we left you alone for even a minute, you would be taken away." She hugged him. "I still get scared, even when you scrapped your knee the other day. When I heard you cry I got scared. I thought something really bad happened to you."

"I'm sorry that you got scared." She said innocently. "I didn't mean for you to feel that way."

"It's okay. It's not your fault." He whipped her tears away again. "It's how I react, because you are my little girl that I love so much."

"I love you too Daddy."

When Tifa came back with a bowl of soup, Cloud was sitting against the headboard of the bed, Ritte curled up next to him as he was watching TV. He gave a small cough when she handed him the soup. She sat down on the bed next to him while he ate the soup.

"Well, I didn't expect that kind of reaction from her." Tifa said as she leaned against his shoulder.

"I neither did I." He took a bite of soup. "I handled it though. She took it well." He looked at Tifa. "You make the best soup in the world."

"I know, cause every time you get sick you ask for it and say the same thing." He looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"I do?" She nodded. "I guess I'll have to start saying that I don't like it." She hit him on the shoulder. "Ouch, your not supposed to hit a sick man on the shoulder."

"And your not supposed to argue with a pregnant woman!" He laughed.

"Who says we're arg…..wait. What?" He stopped what he was doing and looked at her with a blank stare. "Your pregnant again?" She nodded. "I thought we were going to wait until Ritte turned five! She just turned four!"

"It's not my fault." He looked down at Ritte. "You're the one who wanted to 'get busy'."

"Whoa." He gave up. He would just have to except the fact that he was going to have another kid in a few months. He just hoped the baby would be a boy. Not that he and Denzel didn't mind being the _only_ two men in the house, cause they enjoyed it, but another male was needed when it came to doing chores. "Okay. I'm good with having another kid as long as it's a boy." Tifa laughed.

"We'll get whatever comes, okay?" He nodded.

Ritte was sitting outside with True on the front steps waiting for Marlene and Denzel to get home from school. Her Daddy was upstairs in bed sleeping because he was sick with a fever, which would keep him home for a couple of days. Mommy was in the kitchen cleaning up before opening the bar tonight.

"Ritte." She looked up, seeing a man with a long red cape and a gold claw on his arm. She gasped.

"UNCLE VINNIE!" She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his waist. He gave her a small smile.

"Where is your parents?" He asked her.

"Mommy is in the kitchen getting ready to open the bar and Daddy is sleeping." She put her hand to one side of her mouth and whispered to Vincent. "He's sick." He nodded getting the idea the proceeded to go into the bar.

It wasn't too soon after that when Ritte saw Marlene and Denzel round the corner and wave to her. She and True ran over to them, both teens giving her a hug.

"So, Ritte, how was your day?" Denzel asked her.

"Well, it was kinda boring." Marlene smiled at her. "Daddy is sleeping right now and Uncle Vinnie is here."

"Really?" Ritte nodded at what Marlene said. "Well then we better get home." They walked home.

Vincent didn't stay to long, but he stayed long enough to say hello to the teens. After he left Tifa cooked supper. Cloud was well enough to join them, but he had soup again, instead of spaghetti. As much as he wanted spaghetti, Tifa made him eat soup.

"I have announcement." Everyone stopped what they were doing, which was eating, and looked at Tifa. As soon as she had their attention, she continued. " I'm going to have a baby." Denzel dropped his fork, Marlene gasped, and Ritte, didn't do anything. She just stared at Tifa.

"You are?" Ritte asked.

"Yes. I am." Ritte got down from the table with tears welling up in her eyes. She then ran up the stairs into her room. "Ritte!" Tifa yelled to her.

"I'll handle it Tifa." Cloud got up and walked upstairs to Ritte's room, True following him. He knocked on her door.

"Come in." He opened the door and stepped in, closing it behind him.

"Ritte. What's wrong?" He sat down next to her as she picked up her stuffed chocobo.

"Ya'll are replacing me." A wave of tears came and she hugged him tight, crying into his shirt. Cloud smiled.

"We're not replacing you. Just adding to our family." He rocked her back and forth as more tears came. "I could never replace you. You're my first born and always will be. I love you and you know that." She looked up at him.

"Really?" He nodded.

"Now lets go down stairs and finish eating. Oh and when you see your mommy, give her a hug. She's really sad cause your not happy." He stood up and held his hand out to her.

"Ok Daddy!"

Wow. Trying to capture Cloud's personality like this is hard. A little father - daughter bonding moments here and there. I doubt anyone has tried this before. I see why they never tried. He is hard to get into this type of story.

Seeing how Cloud is in Advent Children, I saw potential. I think that deep down inside he's all mushy like every guy. He has a heart, it's just been scarred.

To my lovely reviewers……

Alyde - I see your point so I did a little diddy about that.

LovingCloudStrife777 - Thank you very much…I shall update just for you.

Bluish orbs - I have big plans for this fic…I'm planning on doing a series on it.

I love you guys….

What ya'll think?


	4. Sinus Infections and Taken

-1True Wolf

True was on the hunt, sniffing about the rooms in different places. Her prey was a sneaky little thing called a 'Ritte', that liked to hide in various places where 'Ritte's' thought they could hide without being found. That never stopped True from using her nose. True knew she was getting closer when she heard giggles coming from the bathroom and she followed her nose all the way to the tub, barking when she got to it. The 'Ritte' poked her head out from the shower curtain and laughed.

"Okay True! You found me!" Ritte jumped out of the tub giving a small 'oomph' as she landed on the tiled floor. True licked her small face, causing the four year old to laugh even harder.

It was snowing outside and Hide-n-Seek was the only entertainment that the four year old had. Her Daddy was sick and in bed, Mommy was always in the kitchen doing something. Denzel and Marlene were at a friends house doing homework, so that left Ritte no one to play with, except True. True was a master of hide-n-seek. She could always find Ritte, but Ritte always had a hard time finding her.

Ritte was currently walking down the stairs after playing with True, who was following her down the stairs, to see what Tifa was doing in the kitchen. It was warm downstairs, and when Tifa saw her daughter come down the stairs, she made some hot chocolate for her.

"Hi Mama!" Ritte said as she came into the kitchen. True went right to her water bowl and lapped up the water that was still in it.

"Hey Ritte, I have some hot chocolate for you." Tifa handed the cup to Ritte, who flinched when she took it into her hands. "Let it cool down a bit before you drink it." Tifa continued cooking the soup that was on the stove. "When your done, we'll bring some soup up to Daddy. Okay?"

"Okay Mama!" Ritte said with a giggle. "Mama, when is the baby coming? I want it to come soon." Being the four year old she is, Ritte didn't know anything on babies. She just knew they were small, annoying, and they were meant to replace you, at least that is what her friend Danny always told her.

"The baby won't be here for another seven months. So, you have plenty of time to get ready." True went and sat next to Ritte, who was drinking her hot chocolate. "Sweetie, you have a mustache on your face." The cream from her drink was stuck to her face, so Tifa knelt down and whipped it off of Ritte's face.

"I had a mustache?" Ritte giggled, thinking it was funny. Tifa laughed with her, then nodded.

"Are you ready to bring the soup to Daddy?" Ritte nodded as she put her cup on the counter, which she couldn't reach. Tifa pushed it far enough from the edge so it wouldn't fall, then grabbed a bowl and put soup in it for Cloud. "Okay, lets go."

Cloud had been awake for the last five minutes, waking up because he was soaking wet from curling up in blankets to get rid of the fever he had. It always worked to curl up and sweat the fever out of your system. It may have been uncomfortable, but it worked. Now he was hungry and needed a shower. He was tired of being sick. He was sick for the last four days and it wasn't fun.

"Just a sinus infection, they said. More like a sinus overtake." He mumbled to himself getting up from the bed. He sat back down when Tifa, Ritte, and True entered the room with a tray of food, which held a nice hot bowl of soup on it. He licked his lips. "That looks good."

"Daddy!" Ritte ran and jumped onto the bed latching onto Cloud, who just hugged her and smiled. "Are you feeling better?"

"Much." He kissed the top of her head when Tifa came over to him and set the tray of food down on his lap. "So, Ritte, what did you do today?"

"Well, it snowed all day today, so me and True had to play games inside. We played hide-n-seek, True won every single time." Ritte giggled a bit then cuddled up next to Cloud as he ate.

"Well, I guess I'll leave you three alone, I've got things to do in the bar before we open." Cloud nodded to Tifa before she closed the door behind her.

"What do you want to watch?" Cloud asked Ritte when he picked up the remote from the nightstand.

"I don't know. What's on?" Ritte said as True jumped in the bed. Cloud didn't mind True in the bed when Tifa wasn't in it, otherwise there was no room for the wolf. "Can we watch Animal Planet?" True put her head on Ritte's lap.

"Sure. As long as it's not on bugs, like cockroaches." Ritte smiled as Cloud turned on the TV and switched channels till he found Animal Planet. It just so happened that there was a show about wolves on. Ritte just listened to what they were saying on the TV, while Cloud was still eating his soup.

"_Wolves can't survive on their own without the pack."_

"Daddy, what do they mean by that?" Cloud who wasn't paying attention looked at Ritte.

"By what sweets?" He put a spoon full of soup in his mouth.

"They said that wolves can't survive on their own without the pack. What does that mean?" Cloud put his spoon down and turned to Ritte.

"It means, that a wolf on it's own, gets so lonely that it needs it's family to love and care for it. Just like True. If I didn't find True, she wouldn't be alive." Ritte looked up at Cloud, eyes wide with surprise. "True has a family though and she will survive." True started howling when she heard the wolves on the TV start howling. Cloud and Ritte laughed at True who jumped off the bed going over to the TV and sitting there just howling away.

"True, you're funny." Cloud said and True barked as a way of saying 'I know', then continued howling.

Downstairs, Denzel and Marlene were helping Tifa get the bar ready for opening time when they heard the howling upstairs. They stopped what they were doing and looked at each other.

"What is going on up there?" Denzel shrugged at Marlene when she asked.

"Oh it must be a special on wolves on the Animal Planet." Tifa said from the bar as she whipped down the counter. Denzel and Marlene looked at each other a shrugged.

"Whatever!"

When nine o' clock rolled around, Ritte and True were sleeping while Cloud was channel surfing. He was bored. Flipping through channels wasn't helping either. He was feeling great, to great and just wanted to go somewhere, but it wasn't happening cause his dearly beloved daughter was sleeping on his lap. He just couldn't get out the bed. He didn't want to wake up the little girl, but he really had to go to the bathroom.

Cloud gently lifted Ritte's upper body off of his lap and put her back down on the pillow next to her, this disturbed True. The wolf curled up next to Ritte and went back to sleep. Cloud sighed, getting up from the bed and walked over to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Cloud came out of the bathroom a few minutes later and got back into bed. He turned off the TV and Ritte cuddled up next to him looking for warmth knowing he was there. He turned on his side facing her and took her in his arms. He stroked her hair and kissed her on the forehead. He wasn't tired, but he would just lay there with his daughter and her wolf, who he was thankful for. True was a member of the family, she would survive. He rubbed True's ears and the wolf opened her eyes.

"Thanks True." The wolf responded by licking Cloud's hand.

An hour later Cloud got up and took Ritte in his arms, bringing her to her room. True followed Cloud and jumped in Ritte's little bed when they entered the room. Cloud gently removed Ritte's clothes, then put on her pajamas while she slept. He tucked her into bed, giving her a kiss on the cheek, then left the room. Little did he know there was a shadow outside Ritte's window watching him leave.

True felt that something wasn't right. There was something outside of the window. True was restless, whatever it was, it was making her nervous. She didn't like it, so she just laid on the bed watching Ritte. She knew if she left the room, whatever it was, it was going to come after Ritte. Maybe, she didn't need to leave the room to make whatever 'it' was to come for Ritte. It was to late though.

The window shattered and a man flew in. Ritte woke up and True went into action. She pounced on the man biting down hard on his arm. The man punched the wolf's side with enough force causing her to fly and hit the wall, knocking True out.

"DADDYYYYY!!!!" Ritte screamed, but the man shut her up by hitting her on the back of the head. Not hard, only hard enough on that soft spot to knock her out. He grabbed the blankets off of her bed and wrapped them around Ritte to keep her warm, then jumped out the window leaving the wolf by herself.

Cloud was downstairs in the kitchen drinking a cup of hot chocolate. Something didn't feel right to him. It was like something was going to happen, he knew it too. Just a few minutes ago, he had put Ritte in her bed and came down to the kitchen. There was something wrong.

"DADDYYYYY!" Cloud jumped up from the table. It was Ritte.

He ran up the stairs as fast as he could possibly go, to Ritte's room. He opened the door to find the window broken and Ritte missing from her bed. He looked around and saw True laying next to the wall, out cold and on her side.

"TIFA!" Cloud was scared.

"Cloud what's wrong? Is Ritte…" Tifa came into the room and stopped when she saw what was in there. "Cloud, where's Ritte?" Tears started to well up in her eyes and she went to stand next to Cloud.

"I don't know, but whatever got her nearly killed True." He went over to where the wolf was and picked her up gently. True woke up when Cloud picked her up, yelping a little when he did. "She may have a broken rib." Tears were in his eyes. Tifa was crying next to him as they headed out the door.

Cloud put True down on the counter in the kitchen, then went into the bar to usher all of the customers out, coming back into the kitchen with Denzel and Marlene. True just laid there with Tifa petting her on the head.

"Will she be okay Cloud?" Denzel asked while rubbing one of True's ears.

"Yeah, but we have to find Ritte." Cloud checked over True, not finding anything wrong. "There's nothing broken. Just her pride." Tifa started to cry again.

"What are we going to do? We have to go look for Ritte." She hugged Cloud and cried into his chest.

"We will." He hugged Tifa close. This was every parents worst nightmare. "Denzel! Call Vincent and Cid. I'll get a hold of the Turks and get some answers." Denzel went over to the phone and dialed the number for Vincent's phone.

"I'm going to go up to my office and call Reno. He might know something." Cloud kissed Tifa. "Don't worry. I'll get her back and I'll need True's help to do it." He picked up True off the counter and carried her up stairs with him.

"Marlene, can you get some food and water for True." Marlene, who was holding Nikki, nodded and did what she was asked to do, taking it upstairs to Cloud's office.

Tifa walked into Cloud's office as he hung up the phone. She walked over to True and rubbed her ears. True licked her hand and went back to sleep.

"Reno said they had nothing to do with this, but there was something going on and that he a Rude were investigating that." He sighed and put his elbows on the desk, with his chin resting on top of his hands.

"I hope she's okay. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to my baby." Tifa said and he felt her wrap her arms around his shoulders. She cried into his shoulder. "I just want her back."

"I know. I'll do everything I possibly can do to get her." He closed his eyes and took her left hand in his, rubbing her wedding band. "I promise."

"CLOUD!" Marlene came running in the room, the two adults turned around and looked at her. "There was a note on the door. Here." the girl walked over to the warrior and handed him the note.

_Strife,_

_I bet you are wondering where your precious daughter is. Well, meet me in Kalm at the Darwin Inn in two days at 9:00 pm. I look forward to seeing you there. _

_Nero_

"Tifa, I'm going to have to leave for a couple of days." She looked at him.

"Okay." He hugged her. "Just as long as you take some backup." He knew what she was talking about.

"I'll call Vincent and see if he could meet me before I get to Kalm." She sniffed.

"It's cold out there, she could be sick." He held her. "Are you taking True?"

"I have no choice, she has the best nose and she knows when people are lying." He let Tifa go and turned around to look at the wolf. "She is fine, just sad. She saw her best friend get taken away by someone really powerful." He walked over to the wolf and stroked her white fur. True opened her sky blue eyes and looked into Cloud's. She knew what he was thinking.

The wolf got to her feet and barked. Cloud smiled, she had caught on to what he was thinking, he always had that psychotic link. It was because of the Mako in his body. Ritte had it too, but not as extreme as Cloud.

"I think I know what to do Tifa, but it's going to take some work." He walked out of the room, whistling for True when he got down the hall. "Come on True!" The wolf ran after him, leaving Tifa alone in the room. She walked out and to Ritte's room.

Tifa sat on Ritte's bed holding the stuffed chocobo that the little girl loved. She started to cry when True walked in the room, Cloud following. He sat beside her and she wrapped her arms around him, letting herself cry even more. He held her close, but not without shedding some tears himself.

"I thought you were going to get ready to go." She said between sobs. He kissed the top of her head.

"I heard you crying and I turned around, True wasn't behind me anymore. I knew she came in here." He felt True jump on the bed next to him. She laid her head on his lap and whined a little. Cloud rubbed her ears.

"Come on Teef." He got up and held out his hand for Tifa, who took it. He led her back to their room where they climbed into bed and fell asleep.

True stayed in Ritte's room, sitting in the bed looking outside at the stars. Her story was about to begin. It wasn't going to be easy to get her best friend back. The Alpha, Cloud, would need her help and she would give it freely. She wasn't just any old wolf. She was better than that.

Okay, there you have it, finally. The fourth chapter. Now, True's real purpose in this story is coming to light. There is more to her than meets the eye. This is just the first story….in the White Wolf Chronicles.

So, what do you think?


	5. Blood on snow and a princess

-1Ok, I'm sorry for the delay….I had severe writer's block, not to mention other things have been going on, including a hurricane that just popped up out of nowhere….DARN YOU HUMBERTO!!!! GIVE ME BACK MY BRAIN!!!! Moving on…..now this may be a little short…but I'll do my best. Recovering from writer's block is always distressful….not to mention that I'm hungry.

Anyone have any Tequila?

True Wolf

Ritte opened her eyes not knowing where she was, or where she was going, it was dark and she couldn't see because she was blind folded. All she knew is that whatever she was in, it was moving, and moving rather fast. She was scared, cold, her head and neck hurt really bad. She really wanted her Mommy and Daddy, they could make all of the fear go away. She started to cry.

"It's okay little one. I'm not going to hurt you." Ritte continued to cry. Who ever had said that sounded like a man only about twenty. She felt a hand run itself through her hair and over her forehead. "I'm going to remove this blindfold, but you have to stop crying. Okay?" Ritte stopped crying and nodded. She was going to do whatever the man said. That's what her Daddy told her to do if she was ever in this type of situation.

"Where am I?" She said as the man pulled off the blindfold. She looked around, her mako eyes scanning the interior of what looked like a car. "Where is my Daddy?" She looked at the man. He was young, dressed in black, his eyes where dark, his hair was black and went down past his shoulders. He smiled.

"You are on your way to a place called Kalm, and I hope that your Dad doesn't come. Nero will kill him, even if the wolf comes, he will die." Ritte blinked trying to figure out what the man was saying. "Oh, and my name is Nyugen, but everyone else just calls me Dragon." He smiled and held out his hand. "What is your name?"

"Ritte Idalia Strife!" She smiled and shook Dragon's hand. "It's very nice to meet you Dragon!" He laughed at her bubbly nature.

"You may go back to sleep if you want. Your head must hurt really bad, I'm sorry for that by the way." She nodded and cuddled up next to the dark haired man, falling asleep. He opened the divider that separated the back of the car from the driver. "Jared, call Nero, tell him that I did what he wanted me to do."

It had been four hours since Cloud had left home with True, who was running along side Fenrir in the snow. It was cold, snow had started to fall ten minutes ago and it was getting worse, slowing them down. It was getting hard to see and it was getting colder. Ice was beginning to build up on Fenrir and the gears were starting to lock up. Cloud would have to find a place to stay. He looked over his shoulder at True, who was blending in with the snow, he could still here her pants though. He had stopped Fenrir, the snow was to deep to get through and it was getting close to dark.

"True! Find a place for us to stay!" True heard what Cloud had said but couldn't smell anything. He would have to leave Fenrir behind. True was doing her best to trek through the waist deep snow. Cloud got all of the things he could carry out of Fenrir and abandoned the bike. There was no use for it now. "Come on True!" Cloud grabbed on to True's fur to keep from losing her as she guided him through the snow storm.

Cloud was exhausted and cold. It was two hours after dark, the snow had stopped falling a while ago, they had decided to travel in the forest. The clouds had gone away leaving a clear sky with stars and a full moon reflecting on fresh snow. True started to see dark shadows moving between the trees, she let out a growl alerting Cloud to them.

"Easy. We don't want them to know that we are tired. They probably sense it though." He gave a tug on True's fur to keep her quiet. "Don't move at all. Stay right here with me." He coughed.

True was waiting for the shadows to get closer, she could smell them. They smelt of wolves, about twenty of them. They stepped out of the shadows growling with red eyes. Large black wolves, bigger than True, looking to kill her and Cloud.

Before she could turn around, one of the wolves jumped on her and grabbed her throat in it's powerful jaws, she gave a yelp. Cloud took his sword and cut the wolf off of True in one swing, but another one jumped on his back biting his shoulder. True quickly lunged at the wolfs neck and killed it. There was blood all over her white fur and on the snow as well. Cloud fell to his knees in pain, but True could not help him just yet. There was a bigger wolf that wanted blood. The wolf stepped out of the shadows. It was the alpha of the pack, he looked old and had many scars.

The old wolf circled True and she did the same. They growled at each other, then lunged for each others necks. True being smaller and faster reached the old wolfs neck and tore it open killing him. Blood sprayed everywhere. The old wolf's body fell in the snow softly with blood still coming from his wounds. True howled in victory and the other wolves got the message, leaving their dead leader behind.

With her own wounds bleeding profusely, she walked over to Cloud who was kneeling in the snow clutching his shoulder. He took his arm away from his shoulder and inspected True's wounds.

"You did good girl. You did good." He rubbed her ear and then collapsed in the snow from exhaustion.

True looked around for something that could serve as a shelter, finding a large hollow tree. She grabbed the back of Cloud's shirt and dragged him inside of the tree, then going back to get the things that they had left behind, dragging them back as well. She came back after rubbing herself in the snow hoping to get most of the blood off of her fur. Her wounds had stopped bleeding for the time being, so she started to lick Cloud's wound to keep it from bleeding more than it was already. She curled up next to Cloud and kept him warm while getting some sleep herself.

Ritte woke up with blue eyes starring back at hers. She looked around, realizing she was in a room with a nice bed. Her eyes landed on the owner of the pair of eyes.

"You don't have to be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. My dad said that I had to keep an eye on you." The owner of the eyes was a boy with blond hair as blond as her father's, but not as spiky. "My name is Luke. What's yours?" The boy, Luke, smiled. He was clearly older than Ritte.

"My name is Ritte. It's nice to meet you, but where am I and where is Dragon?" Luke looked at her and smiled.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Ritte!" She looked at him. "As for where you are, your at my family's estate outside of Kalm. It's the summer estate. As for Dragon, I think my dad sent him out to look for a guy named Cloud something. I can't remember the…."

"It's Strife!" Ritte yelled. She didn't understand what was going on. "Strife is my last name too, Cloud Strife is my Daddy." She calmed down as Luke backed up from the bed she was sitting in.

"Oh. I didn't mean to offend you. By the way, how old are you?" He rubbed the back of his head. He was taller than her it looked like. She sighed.

"I'm four." Luke looked at her wide eyed.

"Wow! Your four! You don't sound like a four year old." He poked her chest with a smile on his face. This kid was annoying her. He stood strait and rubbed the back of his head again. "That's cool, I'm ten." He smiled at her and she just looked at him blankly.

"Your old." She said flatly. She looked at the window to see that it was already morning. "How long was I asleep anyway?"

"Well, you got here around eight last night, you were asleep when you got here." He said. Ritte's stomach gave a loud rumble saying it was hungry. She blushed. "I guess I should take you to the kitchen. Breakfast should be ready." He grabbed her hand, dragging her out of bed and out of the room still in her pajamas. "Don't worry about your clothes, we have some for you."

Ritte gasped when she entered the hall. This house was huge, it was like a castle. The ceilings were at least twenty feet high, of course they looked that way to her cause she was little. She just couldn't believe where she was.

"This place is like a castle! I love it!" Ritte looked up at the ceiling admiring the pictures that were painted on it. "I wish I lived in a place like this, with my Mommy and Daddy. I would be like a princess." A tear fell from her right eye. "I wish they were here. I miss them very much, even though Mommy is going to have another baby. I miss my Daddy a lot too." Luke smiled.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they are looking for you as we speak. I hope that you will see them again." He took her by the hand and lead her to the kitchen where the chef's were cooking all kinds of things.

"Good morning Master Luke!" One of the chef's said as they passed by.

"Good morning Davey! What's on the menu today?" The chef bent down to look at Ritte.

"Well, whatever this young lady would like is what I'll cook." He smiled and ruffled Ritte's hair. She laughed for a bit then stopped putting her finger to her mouth, thinking about what she wanted.

"I know! How about chocolate chip pancakes with a side of bacon and hash browns!" She exclaimed.

"That sounds great!" He laughed. "May I have the pleasure of knowing your name Madame?" He smiled holding out his hand and she excepted it.

"My name is Ritte Idalia Strife!" She giggled and the chef kissed her hand, then his stood up strait. The chef banged on a couple of pots to get everyone who in the kitchen to turn their attention to him.

" Okay everybody! Miss Ritte, would like chocolate chip pancakes with bacon and hash browns! Now everyone, we must serve our guest with the best of manners! Don't let me down!" He clapped his hands and everyone started to do the task that was given to them.

"Wow! Luke this place is the best!" She turned around to face the boy who was smiling at her. "I feel like a princess!"

"Just wait till you see what else we have! Your going to love it!" He grabbed her hand and lead her to the dining room.

"Good morning Luke." Someone said when they walked in the room.

"Good morning Mother!" He said to a woman with blond hair sitting at the table reading what looked like a small black book. She looked up when Luke said good morning, her green eyes coming in contact with Ritte's mako eyes.

"This must be Ritte." The woman looked at her with a blank look in her eyes. It was making Ritte nervous. Then the woman smiled turning that blank look into a warm and friendly, motherly, look. "Come here dear." She held out a hand and Ritte went up to her. "Don't be afraid my dear. My name is Kalina." Ritte took the woman's hand and was lead to a chair, where she sat and received her breakfast. "We're going to have some fun today. Okay?"

"Okay!" Ritte jumped up and down.

True had woken up around dawn, something was in the forest, a man it smelled like. The scent was familiar, the same as the man who took Ritte. She saw the blood trail that she had left. Cloud was still asleep, still bleeding pretty badly, and she was hungry. She heard the sound of footsteps in the snow, the man was getting closer. She growled when he poked his head in to the tree, to weak to fight, she just got up.

"It's okay girl. I'm not going to hurt you." The man was dressed in black, and had long dark hair. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of strips of bacon. True smelt it and quickly took it out of his hand eating it. He rubbed her head. "Lets see what's wrong with this guy." The man looked in and saw Cloud. "We need to get him to Holly. She'll be able to help him." The man whistled.

Out of the forest came a Chocobo of a rare blood red color, it stopped in front of the man and gave a wark. The man proceeded to drag Cloud from the hollow tree. The bird crouched down enough for the man to slump Cloud over it's back.

"Come on girl. I'm here to help, even though I was told to kill Cloud when I found him. I can't, because, it would make a very special little girl cry." True knew who he was talking about. "Come one Garnet, lets get this guy to Holly." The man started walking and the chocobo followed him.

True didn't know if she could trust this man, but she would see how things go. If he even harmed Cloud in any way, she would rip his head off. She just followed him, slowly through the snow. She was tired from having lost a lot of blood. Sometime during the night, the wolves came back, but they didn't last long against her. She ripped them to shreds, leaving a pile of dead black wolves and a lot of blood. She didn't come back with out her wounds. There was puncture wounds on her neck from the wolves grabbing her by her jugular, and various gashes from claws. She left a trail of blood in the snow, it lead the wolves to her and Cloud.

She had to protect her family, even if it meant that she had to give her most secretive gift to do it. There was a reason they took Ritte, it was to get her. She had a secret power, one that could be passed on to save a person. This 'Nero' was after her, he sent the man in front of her to kill Cloud. What was he going to do to her.

Cloud woke with a pain in his shoulder. He was lying in a bed, shirtless, in a shack, True was laying on the floor next to the bed with bandages wrapped around her neck. He tried to sit up, but the pain in his shoulder stopped him.

"I wouldn't sit up. You'll tear open your stitches." Cloud looked up to see a woman with long blond hair and hazel eyes. She was wearing a green dress that went down to the floor, and a corset that was the same color as well. "My name is Holly, True has told me all about you, Cloud Strife." She smiled and started to make soup.

"So, you can talk to wolves then, well True at least." he stayed laying on the bed. "That's interesting."

"It runs in my family. Some have called me Cetran, but I'm not. I'm just a lonely young forest witch, looking for reasons to live." She turned to him smiling. "Dragon bought you to me, he said that he knows where your daughter is."

"She is with some guy named Nero. The only Nero that I know of, is dead." He stared at the ceiling.

"That Nero, is indeed dead. This one, is not named Nero, his name is Lucas, he is powerful. He looks to gain the power of a Makonian wolf." Cloud's eyes widened.

"Makonian wolf?" Holly nodded.

"Yes, the same thing as the white wolf you have as a friend. The same thing as the wolf laying on the floor next to you." Holly pointed to the wolf.

Okay, there you have it….The plot thickens….a little action, a surprise, and a few new characters….And Nero is revealed…hehe…

Till next time….

Michiyo


	6. Power and Confrontations

-1Okay, I think the reason some of you guys are having a hard time getting the time gaps is because my computer doesn't like and it won't let me do and separating. So, you will just have to bear with me….sorry for all the confusion.

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True Wolf

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"Makonian Wolf?" Holly nodded.

"It is the same thing as the white wolf you have as a friend. The same thing as the wolf laying on the floor next to you." Holly pointed to the wolf.

"Explain." Holly came over and looked at Cloud's shoulder, checking the bandages. "There must be a story behind all of this."

"There is and it is very long." Cloud nodded. "I guess that you must hear of it, True has chosen you." Holly started to unwrap the bandages. "The Makonian wolf goes further back than the Cetra. They are said to have been created from the life stream and was the rulers of the planet before the Cetra. Until now, there were no Makonian wolves. True is the only one." Holly ran her hand over the stitches on Cloud's shoulder. "She has to pass on her power to someone she trusts, someone who can protect the planet. If she fails, then I'm afraid, we will lose everything we hold dear." She ran across Cloud's ring.

"Lose everything?" Cloud looked at her in surprise.

"Yes. You have a big task ahead of you." He put his head back on the pillow and stared at the ceiling once more. "You know what you have to do. So do it."

"Easier said than done." He was falling asleep.

"Just remember Cloud, where there is a White wolf, there is a Black wolf." He heard her, but only enough to get it into his mind before he fell asleep, letting his dreams take him away.

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Ritte was walking down the hall of the mansion to her room following Luke and his mother. She was very nice to Ritte. After Ritte finished her breakfast, she remembered that she was still in her pajamas and asked for some clothes.

"So, what is your favorite color Ritte?" Luke asked walking beside her. She looked at him then looked at her feet.

"Sky blue. The color of True's eyes." She suddenly stopped remembering that she had left her friend behind. She felt a hand on her shoulder, it was Luke's.

"It's okay, I'm here for you." He wrapped his arms around her small frame and she put her head on his chest. His mother stopped, turning around to look at them.

"Come along you two." Ritte and Luke parted, following Kalina down the hall. Kalina's heels clacked on marble floor, creating an eco.

They came to the room that Ritte woke up in, Kalina opened the door and waited till the two children entered the room before shutting the door behind her. The older woman walked over to a door opposite of the bed and opened it. Inside there were dresses that looked to be Ritte's size.

"These dresses were once mine, they should fit you." The blond woman pulled out a lavender dress with white lace. "I think this one will fit you perfectly well. It fit me when I was four." Ritte walked over to Kalina and ran a hand over the smooth silk of the dress.

"It's so smooth." The little girl smiled. Ritte took the dress and grabbed Kalina's hand dragging her to the bathroom to put on the dress.

"Fine leave me in here all by myself, I don't care." Luke just looked at the floor and sulked. "It's not like I'm going to stand here all day." He looked up and sighed. "Girls."

Five minutes later Ritte and Kalina emerged from the bathroom. Luke, who was sitting on the bed, stood when Ritte came in. She was wearing the lavender dress. It was sleeveless, with white lace trim on the bottom of the dress that came down to her knees. Kalina was tying the tie on the dress that goes behind the back.

"Okay, now we have to do something about your hair." Kalina thought for a second on what to do about Ritte's medium length hair. She went over to the vanity mirror and rummaged through the drawers finding a lavender ribbon. "I think this will do." Kalina took a brush and pulled Ritte's hair back into a ponytail, then tied the ribbon into a bow. "Now, how does that look?" Ritte looked into the mirror.

"I look like a princess!" She twirled around and Luke laughed.

"Well, princess. How about I take you to the game room for some fun?" Luke held out his hand for the girl and walked out of the room with her, leaving Kalina to ponder what exactly her husband was planning.

Her husband was going to take away this girls family, for a wolf. It didn't make any sense. She wasn't to happy about it. What sense was it to take a wolf and use it's power.

The door squeaked and in walked a black wolf with red eyes.

"What do you want you mangy dog?" The wolf growled at her. "Go away!" She yelled and it walked closer to her growling. This wolf wanted blood.

"NERO!!!" It was her husband, calling for the wolf. It turned and left the room when her husband came in. "I'm sorry about that dear." He walked up to Kalina and embraced her, but she shied away from him. "Oh come now my love, is this how you treat someone who gave you a child of your own."

"Luke is mine, he will never be yours. Ever." The dark haired man stepped back from Kalina and with a look of anger he slapped her across the face. He hit her with so much force, she was sent to the ground. 

"Now listen here you ungrateful woman." He pulled her up by her hair and made her look into his eyes. Those dark, cold, emotionless eyes she had come to fear. "What is yours, will no longer be if you don't behave." She flinched and groaned with pain. "Understand?" She nodded.

"I'm sorry." She said and he let go of her.

"Well, my dear. I must go meet someone in town." He turned to leave. "Oh, and have the little brat ready for her fathers funeral." He left the room leaving Kalina to cry on the cold marble floor. The door opened again and light footsteps were heard.

"Kalina?" She felt someone's hand on her back. She looked up and smiled slightly.

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Cloud walked through the snow following True as she sniffed out the hollow tree where his sword was. Holly was kind enough to lend him her chocobo, a wintry green colored one named Forest. He had to hurry to Kalm, it was about seven p.m. he only had a couple of hours. He retrieved his sword and the other things that were in the tree. He secured them to Forest's saddle and hopped on.

After about an hour and a half of traveling, the outskirts of Kalm could be seen in the darkness. It was a clear night, the cold was not too bad. His shoulder wasn't giving him any problems, which was good. It wouldn't be much longer till he could hold Ritte in his arms. She would be safe.

"Lets go faster True." He kicked the bird into a fast pace, True leading the way.

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Lucas was waiting at the Darwin Inn, he sat in a chair, with his black wolf laying on the floor next to him. It was almost nine, in just a few minutes Cloud Strife was going to come through that door, if he wasn't dead already.

"Lucas, he better be here or I'll kill you myself." There was a voice in his head. It was cold and evil.

"He'll be here Nero, you have my word on it." The wolf growled.

"You better hope." Lucas swallowed what moisture was in his mouth. "I may be in the body of a wolf, but you have no idea the power I have. If we can get the White to change, I can kill her and get her power."

"Assuming we can kill Strife first." The man was impatient, he wanted to get everything over with.

"They're here."

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Cloud pushed the door open, with his sword in hand, he walked into the lobby of the Darwin Inn. It was nine o' clock. He saw a man sitting in a chair with a black wolf laying at his feet. True began to growl when she saw the wolf.

"I know who you are." There was a female voice. "I know what you are."

"And I know who and what you are." Then a male voice. Cloud was confused.

"Okay, what is going on here?" Cloud had to say something. Both the wolves and the man looked at him.

"Well, Mr. Strife, the voices you are hearing are those two." The man pointed to the two wolves. "They seem to know what is happening."

"Yeah, well, I'm not here for you." Cloud was getting angry. "So, where's my daughter?"

"Safe. At my house, just outside of town." The man was calm, but the wolves were still growling at each other. "Save it for later you two."

"True, keep your guard up." The wolf turned to look at Cloud and gave a small nod. "Now, who are you?"

"My name is Lucas and this is Nero." The man Lucas referred to the wolf at his feet. "Now, I will take you to your daughter on one condition."

"What is it?" Cloud shifted his weight.

"You must give me your wolf." Lucas gave a sly smile. "I'll take you to your daughter and you can go home with her." Cloud didn't seem interested. "Now how does that sound?"

"It sounds like a load of crap." Cloud would've smiled when the man's face went from a sly smile to a blank and unhappy look. "I have a better idea. Take me to my daughter and I'll give you the wolf when Ritte is safely in my arms. Deal?"

"Since I see where your going with this, I think I can do that." Lucas rose from where he sat. "If you would follow me this way to my car, I'll see that things are done in your favor." Cloud and True followed the man out of the inn and got into the car.

After a short ride, Cloud found himself standing in the foyer of a large mansion. He was impressed, but not all that impressed.

"If you would just follow me to the sitting room, I'll see that your daughter is bought to you immediately." Lucas left the room, but Nero stayed. Cloud just sat down and sighed.

"All this trouble for nothing. It doesn't seem right." Cloud ran a hand through his hair.

"In particular, Nero is that of my kind, he wants what I can't give to him. My power is deadly to those who use it for dark purpose." True looked at Cloud. When he was almost dead laying in the hollow tree, she had talked to him. Healing what she could, only doing so then.

"DADDY!!!" Cloud jumped up from where he was sitting and turned to the source of the noise. Ritte came barreling towards him with tears in her eyes. She jumped into Cloud's arms and hugged him around his neck. "I though you would never come." She cried.

"I did come, True did too." He held her close, kissing her hair.

"How touching, too bad I have to kill your Daddy little girl." Ritte stopped crying and looked at Lucas with surprise in her eyes. Cloud turned his head and glared.

"You might find that hard to do, Lucas." True spoke into their minds. "Something Nero wants, is already gone."

"So it is, the blue is no longer in your eyes." Nero spoke. "So who did you give it too?"

"Why does it matter? Why don't you just give yours away instead of keeping it." True sat down.

"It doesn't matter now. I've gotten what I've come for." Cloud put Ritte down next to True.

"I don't think so!" Lucas took out a knife and plunged it into Nero's back, killing the wolf instantly. The wolf's eyes turned black and Lucas's turned to a blood red color. "Now the power that was his is now mine."

"So, I can beat you easily." Cloud's eyes started to glow. "It doesn't take much."

"So, it's you who got that power?" Lucas's eyes started to glow too. "I thought so."

"True, get Ritte out of here. Take her home!" True did as she was told.

"Ritte, get on!" The girl did as she was told.

"Wait! What about Luke and Kalina?" Cloud looked at Ritte. "I can't leave without them."

"Ritte, don't worry. I'm sure they have already gone. Just go home to your mother."

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Ritte and True left the mansion with the two men inside, who were tearing each other apart, though it seemed that way. It was too cold for her, True did her best.

"Ritte!" It was Luke. He came over to her and picked her shaking body up from True's back. He quickly ran over to a car that held his mother and Dragon. True decided that she would be safe with the boy and his mother, so she went back into the mansion where Cloud was being held in the air by Lucas.

The white wolf ran to the two powerful men and bite Lucas on the arm hard, causing him to drop Cloud, who was getting ready to attack.

"Cloud focus! The power in you is going to turn you. It's already draining him. He doesn't have Mako in his body. He can't handle it!" She fought with Lucas till he threw her against a marble column knocking her out instantly.

"True!" Cloud got angry and felt his body begin to change. Light surrounded him, then disappeared. He was a wolf. True's body was gone. It wasn't there anymore.

"Your one of us now." Cloud heard a whisper in his ear. He charged for Lucas's neck and caught it in his wolf shaped mouth. He strangled the man till he stopped moving, till the red in his eyes turned to black. He stepped back from the mans body and sighed. A light surrounded him again putting him back in his human body. True was standing in front of him.

"Now what?" She looked up at him.

"You go home."

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Ritte was sitting on the front steps of the Darwin Inn with Luke sitting next to her. She was waiting for Cloud. He didn't come.

"What if he's dead? Then what am I going to do?" Luke put an arm around her shoulders. Snow had begun to fall rather thick.

"I don't know, but we have to get inside. It's getting cold." He was about to get up when he felt something hit his chest. He looked down and saw Ritte's head resting on his chest, her arms wrapped around his waist. He hugged her close.

"Don't ever forget me." She said and he nodded.

He looked out into the falling snow and saw a figure walking towards them. As it got closer, Luke noticed a wolf walking next to it. It was Cloud.

"Ritte!" She looked up. "Look!" He pointed at the man.

"Daddy?" He came closer and Ritte's face lit up. "DADDY!!!" She ran to Cloud and he grabbed her, holding her close. "Your alive." She laid her head on his shoulder. He walked through the snow, up the steps, and into the lobby of the inn. Luke followed as well as True.

That night Cloud slept peacefully with Ritte curled up next to him. He woke in the middle of the night, just to make sure his little girl was still there. He was amazed by this power that True had given to him. He did die that night in the hollow tree and True gave him her power so that he could live. He was grateful.

To go home different from what he was before, would be strange for Tifa to handle. He had to be there, he was needed. That was something he would have to cross when he got to that bridge. For now, he would have to take care of his daughter.

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O sweet almost ending! You are in sight! One more chapter….maybe two. Sorry for the delay, I've been doing a lot of things lately….kinda sad really, haven't had any time for my wonderful fans. I pity myself. Ah well, I shall see if I want the next chapter to be the last for this story or not.

Review and let me know what you think!


	7. To the Future

-1Okay peeps, this be last chapter for this story…..it's going to be short, cause I want to get this done. There will be one shots and other things….but the sequel to this story is in the works. I'm not promising any updates any time soon do to work.

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True Wolf

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It had been a little over a year since Ritte was taken from home one winter night, she had just turned five. Her parents had decided to add on to the family with her little sister, Corina, who was a ball of trouble. Corina was annoying to Ritte, but that didn't stop her from loving the baby. Cloud and Denzel were upset when they found out that they were still going to be the only men in the house.

True had disappeared for a while after she found her family to be safe. Ritte went to bed with her one night and the next morning True was gone. Cloud had to tell Ritte that it was because True had to go look for something important. Ritte didn't understand the changes that occurred in her father, so she started to grow farther apart from him. Though, she still thought that he was her hero, there was only some things that she could understand. True did come home, but not alone. She came home with two little puppies in tow. One was black and the other was white, but they didn't posses that power that Cloud now had inside of him.

Luke and his mother had moved to Edge, they didn't live to far away from Ritte. It was Luke who became distant after a while. Sometimes he would go out into the streets and stir up trouble. Cloud had offered to teach the boy how to fight and Luke gladly accepted. Within a few weeks everything was back to normal for Luke. He was a lot happier.

It was at this time when Tifa had suggested throwing a party and inviting all the members of AVALANCHE for a reunion. Which probably wouldn't go according to plan.

"Tifa! Why are we doing this again?" Cloud was hauling a couple of boxes in from outside. He set them down and walked over to her, kissing her on the lips.

"Because, the others haven't seen our newest addition yet." She was cooking something that smelled really good. Of course his senses were now increased by a lot. "Ritte and Denzel should be getting home pretty soon." Ritte had started kindergarten this year and Marlene had gone to Barrett's for a couple of weeks. So far, Ritte was having a good time.

"I guess I'll just have to go and wait for them." Cloud walked out the door and stood in the cold. Surprisingly, it hadn't snowed yet this year. It would normally start snowing this time of year, but it hasn't. True came out of nowhere and sat beside Cloud.

"I guess things happen fast. The years tend to go by faster than we think." The wolf spoke. Her semi grown pups, were sleeping in the house.

"A lot faster. I don't know if I'm scared or not." He looked down at the wolf. "I don't know how long I'll live, or better yet, if I'll even die at all."

"It's lonely, watching the ages pass by. Waiting for an eternity to pass is one thing, but living your life to the fullest is another." She looked down at her feet. "I know I won't last much longer, but you, will last longer than anyone." Cloud shifted his weight.

"Maybe." He looked up when he heard laughter and the voices of three kids. It was Ritte, Denzel, and Luke. They looked like they were going to pass out from laughing so much. They walked up to Cloud and stopped. "Well, how was it?" All three of them smiled.

"It was great Daddy!" The boys nodded.

"Well tell me about it when we get inside. Be quiet though, the baby's asleep." They all walked inside.

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True had watched as many things happened over the years, Ritte had grown into a stunning young woman. The only thing was, she was sad most of the time. When she was seven Tifa had gotten sick and never recovered from it. The hardest thing for Ritte was losing her mother, but Cloud was thoughtful, he was still there. He didn't, not once, give up. He took care of Ritte and Corina. True knew that he would live to see many things, but she was getting weak. True was in her last days, she gave up her immortality so that her family could live.

When Ritte was ten, Luke's mother had decided to go live with her sister and she took the boy with her. It was a sad parting, but True just knew some things would come back. When Luke left, he took True's daughter with him. He gave her the name of Honor, while her brother was given the name of Aries. Luke promised he wouldn't ever forget Ritte, and he would keep that promise.

It was on a warm spring day when True went to Cloud and told him that she was ready to go, he felt it was her time as well. Ritte was going to be upset, but Cloud had told her that True had to go, she was not going to last long. It was in the night when True took her last breath and her son inherited the responsibility to look after the family. Aries upheld it with honor.

"Dad, are you there?" Ritte walked into her fathers room. He sat there on the bed, looking at a picture. He hadn't aged a day since True had given him her power. "Dinner is ready. Dad?"

"I'm coming." She turned to leave the room when Corina came in the room. "Ritte, do you remember that time when you were taken?" She turned back around.

"How could I forget. Why?" He sighed and let Corina lean against him. The eight year old was a lot like Tifa. He set the picture down on the nightstand.

"The night after you were taken, when True gave me her power, I died." Ritte looked at him wide eyed. "I don't even remember dieing." Ritte sighed and walked over to Cloud, sitting down next to him opposite of Corina. He put his arm around her shoulder and just sat there with his daughters.

"Uhhh. Is this a bad time?" Denzel walked in and saw Cloud sitting on the bed with his daughters. "Cause if it is, I could always let the house burn down." Cloud gave a small smile. Denzel being in his early twenties and still living at home, was a great help to the girls and to the older man. Of course Denzel was the 'big brother' to the girls.

"Nah, we're coming." Cloud ushered his girls out of the room and downstairs to the kitchen where Marlene was setting the table. Aries was torturing the now old cat, Nikki, by taking her dish and hiding it. "Aries, stop torturing Nikki." The wolf stopped and put the cats dish down.

"It's seems as though Nikki has finally gotten used to it. She just stopped all the growling and hissing a long time ago." Denzel said as he sat down.

"Yeah, well you need to find a job so you can get out." Marlene laughed and set a plate in front of him. Denzel pouted. "What? I'm only telling the truth." Everyone laughed, save Denzel, who just sat there with red cheeks.

"Very funny Marlene." Denzel pouted. "You win first prize in the insult Denzel contest."

"That's enough you two." Cloud said as he sat down. "Now, I'm hungry." Marlene set a plate in front of him and the girls.

"Dad? What would you say if I had a date with a guy planned for tomorrow night?" Cloud, who was taking a sip of his drink, almost choking on it when Ritte asked the question. Everyone else stopped what they were doing.

"Ritte has a boyfriend! Ritte has a boyfriend!" Corina repeated then shut up when Ritte threaten to throw a fork at her. Cloud was silent. Too silent.

"No." He simply said. "No dating till your sixteen. Understand?"

"It's not fair!" She stood up and slammed her fork down on the table causing everyone to flinch. "Everybody else is happy! I'm not. I'll never be happy!" She ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her room, Aries following her. After hearing the door slam shut, Cloud ran a hand through his hair.

"I can't get through to her anymore. Ever since Tifa died, she just vanished. The happy little girl I once knew, she's gone. I don't know if she'll ever come back." Cloud got up from the table and walked out the door going into the summer night. He walked for a ways and ended up at a familiar spot.

He had ended up at Aeris's church, the healing water was still there, but not as much as there used to be. He sat down in one of the pews and put his face in his hands. For the first time in many years, he cried. He suddenly felt loss and sorrow grasp his heart. He couldn't do anything about it. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I knew you would come." Aeris's voice drifted through his thoughts. "It's okay to cry, no matter how strong you are." He didn't dare look up at her.

"I wish I knew what to do." he said in between sobs.

"You will know what to do. When the time comes, you will know." This was a different voice, it was True's voice. "Even though we are gone, we can still guide you, and help you."

"What you must do, is talk to her." Tifa was there with them. It was her voice he was hearing, how he missed her. "I can't stand to see Ritte so unhappy. I know you can't take much more of it yourself."

When he looked up to see them, they weren't there. He was alone. He calmed down enough to get up and walk home. When he did get home everyone was asleep. He quietly walked up the stairs to Corina's room giving her a quick kiss goodnight. He walked to Ritte's room and knowing that she was still awake, knocked on the door.

"Come in." He heard her then turned the knob, letting himself into her room.

"Are you still mad at me?" He sat down on her bed. "I understand if you are." She sat up and put the book she was reading on her nightstand.

"No Daddy, I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at myself." Cloud hadn't heard her call him Daddy in a long time, since Tifa had died. "I know your just doing what is best for me. I understand that, but lately, I feel as if the world is out to get me."

"It's okay to get angry, as long as you let your frustrations out in some form or another, it's good for you." He opened his arms for her and she fell into them. "Before I came home, I went to Aeris's church, for the first time in a long time, I cried." She started to tear up and he just hugged her closer.

"How bad was it, how did you cry?" He kissed the top of her head.

"I cried like a baby." She held on tighter. "I think I should cry like that more often. It got rid of all that stress building up inside." She let go of him and laid back down on her pillow. "Now, it's time to go to bed. You have school tomorrow." He tucked her in and gave her a kiss, for the first time in a long time, things were like they use to be. Aries hopped up on Ritte's bed and licked Cloud on the hand, in return getting his ears tugged.

"Goodnight Daddy." Ritte turned over and went to sleep after turning out her lamp. Cloud turned around and looked at her.

"Goodnight Love."

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FINNALY!!! I'm finished! Yay! That only took me like…..forever. Well, thanks to my wonderful people who loved the story, I shall do a few side stories and then I'll get started with the next installment of the White Wolf Chronicles. Good Grief, I'm falling asleep.

Love

Michiyo


	8. Introduction to Wolf Blood

-1Hey peeps….The sequel to this story is up…..I would give you a sneak peak, but it's already up….

It's called Wolf Blood, it has a lot to do with a rise in power and how family is more important than anything else. This one is a little more challenging cause I've never done romance before…well, not great anyway. There's going to be some action in it, I'm not to big on it anyway as you can tell.

I hope you enjoy Wolf Blood,

Michiyo


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